My family ate these for dinner happily - though my husband renamed them "dirt burgers". They are not attractive without the tomatoes.

Don’t be afraid of mushrooms because of the dirt. I learned a new method of washing them that makes it go fast. Simply fill a bowl with cold water, dunk the mushrooms, and swish them around until the dirt falls off. Place them on paper towels and dry them and you are good to go. I used to wipe them individually and I have found that isn’t necessary.

Buying a ¼ pound of beef is next to impossible unless you have a butcher. I bought a pound and then froze the rest for another recipe.

Heat oven to 350 F. Wash the mushrooms in a large bowl of water, dunking them until the dirt is off. Dry with paper towels. Remove mushroom stems and chop half of them (discard the other half or save for another purpose). Mix in a medium bowl with beef, avocado, Worcestershire sauce, black pepper, and cayenne.

Place mushroom caps on a rimmed baking sheet. Place beef mixture in each cap and top with a small slice of cheddar cheese. Bake for 20 minutes. Top with tomato slice and basil leaf and serve immediately.

16 Comments:

Am I reading that right, that you don't have to pre-brown the beef -- just mix it with the avocado, etc & put it in the oven to bake? That would be super convenient.

Jodieon March 16, 2016

These look great - thank you for the idea! Just watched "In Defense of Food" again last night...& these definitely qualify as real food :-)

Julieon March 16, 2016

They sound good but I am thinking that if this is your main course most folks will want to eat about 8 of these. Hmmm, over 18 grams of of fat and 400 calories. I don't think this is for me.

sue stickleyon March 16, 2016

I do this with portobello mushrooms. I use soy crumbles because I don't eat meat. But I mix a little bit of ketchup, mustard, and relish with my crumbles. Top or mix with cheese depending if I want it all through the mixture or on top. And top with lettuce, tomato, and pickle. So good!

Kelly Lynnon March 16, 2016

These sound really good but I would use as a appetizer not a main meal being it the sat.fat would really add up. I have to watch my sat.fat because of my triglycerides.

In a large bowl, toss mushroom caps with oil and season with salt. On a parchment lined baking sheet, place the mushrooms stem side up. Place your tiny burgers in the wells of the mushroom caps and bake for 20 minutes. Take the baking sheet out of the oven and place slices of cheddar on burgers.